Matt, I agree about the popularity of the SF ovens, and I am sure that they are great ovens. The fact that the ovens are UL listed has gotta be huge determining factor in a restaraunts choice, and may be tipping the scales right now. Fire code has proven to be a tough issue in some cases, and can cost some money if approached in the wrong way. I would like to see all major oven manufacturers all get UL listed, that would level the playing field a bit. -marc

Matt, I agree about the popularity of the SF ovens, and I am sure that they are great ovens. The fact that the ovens are UL listed has gotta be huge determining factor in a restaraunts choice, and may be tipping the scales right now. Fire code has proven to be a tough issue in some cases, and can cost some money if approached in the wrong way. I would like to see all major oven manufacturers all get UL listed, that would level the playing field a bit. -marc

Your right about that. I have been following Pupatella's blog & it cost them $4,500 to have their oven inspected by UL.

Matt

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scott123

In order to be successful selling Neapolitan pizza in the NY metro area, you have to be able to market yourself to foodies/pizza aficionados. That's going to be the word of mouth that drives your business. You can't just say "Ooh, look at our oven. Isn't our oven wonderful?" Any idiot can spend tens of thousands on a good oven and still make crap pizza. What's more important to me (and other pizza freaks) is who YOU are and what kind of training YOU've had.

In the 'About Us' section they say absolutely nothing about THEM! In order to get the tiniest glimpse of who these people are, I had to go digging through the reviews:

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The closest your going to get to this is Amano in Ridgewood....after a little chatter with the owners, they say they used to work for Amano, and have even gone to Naples to learn to make these pies so authentically. Personally, I liked the crust better here compared to when I had Amano's pie.

They've EVEN gone to Naples!?! Wow, color me impressed

Another crucial aspect to pizzeria marketing is photos. Not only are pictures of their pizzas completely buried, once you do find them, the results are more than a little lackluster (see below).

Don't get me wrong, they might make a half decent pie. Or, like a lot of places, maybe they're working out the kinks/learning the oven and, at some point, will make a decent pie. If their pies are on par with their marketing skills, though... I don't have a lot of hope.

In order to be successful selling Neapolitan pizza in the NY metro area, you have to be able to market yourself to foodies/pizza aficionados. That's going to be the word of mouth that drives your business. You can't just say "Ooh, look at our oven. Isn't our oven wonderful?" Any idiot can spend tens of thousands on a good oven and still make crap pizza. What's more important to me (and other pizza freaks) is who YOU are and what kind of training YOU've had.

In the 'About Us' section they say absolutely nothing about THEM! In order to get the tiniest glimpse of who these people are, I had to go digging through the reviews:

They've EVEN gone to Naples!?! Wow, color me impressed

Another crucial aspect to pizzeria marketing is photos. Not only are pictures of their pizzas completely buried, once you do find them, the results are more than a little lackluster (see below).

Don't get me wrong, they might make a half decent pie. Or, like a lot of places, maybe they're working out the kinks/learning the oven and, at some point, will make a decent pie. If their pies are on par with their marketing skills, though... I don't have a lot of hope.

Just out of curiosity, why would you rip these guys apart without trying their product first. I don't think that it's fair to pass judgment & assume that they're pizza is crap because their website is not to your standards. Pizzeria Bianco is arguably one of the best pizzeria's in the US, have you seen their website? If your views hold true then Domino's should have the best pizza in the world. My favorite restaurant doesn't even have a website & there's always lineups a block long. I once asked the owner why, he told me that his priority was to make the best possible food using the best & freshest ingredients not screwing around with a computer.

1 click to get to a mouthwatering picture of their pies (the 'menu' button) AND the guy's NAME is part of the name of the restaurant. I don't have to hire a private investigator to figure out who's making the darn pies and what their experience/training is. When you're Chris Bianco, you don't really need an 'About Us' page.

And I'm not really 'ripping them apart.' I'm ripping their website apart. By omitting any and all information about the people running the place, the website is basically conveying the message that as long as you know the history of pizza and have a great oven, it doesn't matter who you are. Unless you're Chris Bianco, you need to talk about more than just your oven on your 'About Us' page. I'm not talking about aesthetics here. It's the most basic of questions "Who Are You?"

I know Tommy from other sites and trust his opinion, so I probably will give it a try, but if the website was all I had to go on, I wouldn't step foot in the door.

You guys are missing something,Bianco doesnt have to market himself to anyone.The place has been on national Tv shows and was voted best in the U.S..Whether you think its the best or not is not the point,but his concept works for him.

You guys are missing something,Bianco doesnt have to market himself to anyone.The place has been on national Tv shows and was voted best in the U.S..Whether you think its the best or not is not the point,but his concept works for him.

You're absolutely correct. The point that I was trying to make is that you shouldn't judge how good or bad a restaurant is based on their website.

I visited Ah Pizz Montclair Last Night as well There was a Guest Pizziaolo behind the make table all night place was rockin and rollin whata hoot !Oh wait - thats Me ! I will be there toinight as well, too cold for Mobile so come on out John

I visited Ah Pizz Montclair Last Night as well There was a Guest Pizziaolo behind the make table all night place was rockin and rollin whata hoot !Oh wait - thats Me ! I will be there toinight as well, too cold for Mobile so come on out John

you need to give us more notice next time so we can set up a mini crawl

Saturday was Night #2 for me WOW my pizza muscles are sore !! 180 in about 2.5 hours !! 3 of us and yes slammed ! Really Helps when the oven guy trained in Italy and 4,5-6 pies at a time is nothing ! and the main man slides around doing 3 jobs like clockwork! All in all Very Fun experience for me this weekend Learned a few new pies The Mezza Luna, 1/2 calzone and1/2 pizza. The pesto pesto base smoked Buffalo and sausage very popular, egg pizza with proscuitto and even a new twist on the Nutella pie gotta come in for that one !! My plans are to keep checking out this crazy Business Model (No no plans just research? ) I will Hit- Amano, Ah Pizz #2 in Denville, A New Neapolitan place in Madison NJ and another New Neapolitan quick serve Place in Clifton, and keep my hands covered in flour during the winter months John